Bed-slat fastener.



PATENTBD AUG. 18, 1 903.

A. N. WEBB.

BED SLAT FASTENER.

APPLIGATION FILED JAN. 9. 190a- N0 MODEL.

AMI 1 66a Patented August 18, 1903 PATENT OFFICE.

ARTHUR N. WEBB, OF YOUNGSVILLE,PENNSYLVANIA.

BED-SLAT FASTENER.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 736,569, dated August 18, 1903. Application filed January 9,1903. Serial No. 138,372. (No model.)

To all w/mm, it may concern.-

Be it known that I, ARTHUR N. \VEBB, a citizen of the United States of America, and a resident of Youngsville, in the county of lVarren and State of Pennsylvania, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Bed-Slat Fasteners, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to certain new and useful improvements in bed-slat fasteners, and it has forits objects, among others, to provide a simple and cheap device readily applied to bed-slats for holding the same in place, whereby a permanent, secure, and stable fastener is provided, which will prevent the slat when in place from getting out of place, and thus hold the side rails together and prevent the spreading, springing, or warping.

It has for a further object to provide a device of this character of malleable iron, steel, or any other suitable material of sufficient strength and the required weight. The device is applied to the slat'without the employment of screws or nails, and when once in place it is strong, permanent, cannot get loose or out of place, and hence is not liable to break or to be damaged in transit from the factory to the consumer. When once applied, no proj ections are left to catch into or mar the spring or mattress and can be readily applied by unskilled persons.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will hereinafter appear, and the novel features thereof will be particularly pointed out in the appended claims.

The invention in its preferred form is clearly illustrated in the accompanying drawings, which with the numerals of reference marked thereon form a part of this specification, and in which- Figure 1 is a perspective view of a portion of a bedstead, showing the application of the invention. Fig. 2 is an enlarged sectional detail. Fig. 3 is a similar view showinga modified form of the attachment. Fig. 4 is a like view showing still another form. Fig. 5 is a perspective view, on an enlarged scale, of the fastening seen in Figs. 1 and 2 removed.

Like numerals of reference indicate like parts throughout the several views.

Referring now to the details of the drawings, 1 designates the fastener or attachment formed of malleable iron, steel, or any other suitable material, and, as seen in Figs. 1, 2, and 5, it comprises a body portion 1, having at one end a prong 2, extending at substantially right angles from said body portion and which is preferably, though not necessarily, made substantially cylindrical in form, and this prong or projection is adapted to be inserted into an opening provided for its reception in the side of the slat-rest as close to the side rail 3 of the bed as it can be made. In this instance the opening is shown as in the edge of the rest 4:, snugly adjacent to the side rail 3. The fastener is provided at the opposite end with an upwardly-extending short prong 5, which is preferably rectangular in cross-section and preferably tapered to facili tate its insertion in the slat 6, and at a point intermediate the prongs 2 and 5, preferably substantiallyat the mid-length of the fastener, is the long prong 7, which is designed to pass entirely through the slat (5, as indicated by dotted lines in Fig. 2, and then bent downwardly and seated in a recess or depression 8 in the upper surface of the slat, so as to lie flush therewith to avoid projections upon the upper face of the slat. The upper face of the body portion of the fastener, between the prong 7 and the inner end from which depends the prong 2, may be corrugated, roughened, or provided with a series of projections 9, as seen in Figs. 1, 2, and 5, to embed themselves into the under surface of the slat and hold the attachment more securely in position.

The manner of use will be readily understood from the drawings, and when the slat is in place the depending prongs 2 will serve to hold the side rails together and prevent them from springing, spreading, or warping. It is of course to be understood that each slat is provided with one of these fasteners or attachments at each end and that the rail-rests 4, upon opposite sides of the bed, are provided with the openings to receive the depending prongs 2 of such fasteners or attachments.

In Fig. 3 I have shown anotherform which serves substantially the same purpose as that above described. It comprises the depending prong 11, to be received in the opening in the rest 4, and the inclined body portion 12 ,passing upward through the slat 6 in an inclined direction, and the extreme end or point 13, designed IOC to be bent down and clenched into the slat upon the surface thereof, being pressed into the slat, so that its upper surface shall be flush with the upper surface of the slat to avoid any projection. f In Fig. 4 there is shown still another form having the depending lug or portion 14, to enter the hole in the slat-rest, and the body portion 15, being inclined and passed through the slat 6, the extreme end 16 being flush with or beneath the upper surface of the slat and retained in position, as by a staple 17, embracing the upper face thereof and itself being embedded in the slat, so as to avoid any projection upon the upper surface of the latter It will be observed that in all of the forms shown I provide an extended bearing of the fastener in the slat and that the fastener has a portion extending through the slat and secured to the upper face thereof at a distance from the downwardly-projecting prong thereof. By this means great strength is provided together with security of fastening which prevents accidental disengagement of the fastener from the slat. The fasteners may be applied by driving into the slat or by preparing a groove or passage-way therefor, as may be deemed most expedient. Modifications in detail may be resorted to Without departing from the spirit of the invention or sacrificing any of its advantages.

In many instances the fastener or attachportion with a depending prong at one end, a.

portion at the opposite end adapted to engage the slat, the intermediate portion adapted to be held in the slat, substantially as described. 2. A bed-rail fastener comprising a body portion having prongs at opposite ends and an intermediate prong adapted to pass through and be secured to the upper surface of a slat. 3. A bed-rail fastener comprising a body portion having prongs at opposite ends, an intermediate prong adapted to pass through and be secured to the upper surface of a slat, said body portion being provided upon its upper surface with corrugations.

Signed by me at Youngsville, Pennsylvania, this 7th day of January, 1903.

ARTHUR N. WEBB. Witnesses:

A. W. SMITH, O. J. DUNHAM. 

